Ecology Overview Quiz

Ecology Overview

• Definition: The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
• Levels of Ecology:
  • Organismal Ecology: Focuses on individual organisms and their adaptations.
  • Population Ecology: Studies groups of individuals of the same species.
  • Community Ecology: Examines interactions between different species in a community.
  • Ecosystem Ecology: Looks at energy flow and nutrient cycling among living and non-living components.
  • Landscape Ecology: Explores spatial patterns and their effects on ecological processes.
  • Global Ecology: Investigates large-scale ecological phenomena.

Key Concepts

• Ecosystem: A biological community interacting with its physical environment.
• Habitat: The natural home or environment where an organism lives.
• Niche: The role or function of an organism within its ecosystem, including its habitat, resource use, and relationships with other organisms.
• Biodiversity: The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

Biogeochemical Cycles

• Water Cycle: Movement of water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.
• Carbon Cycle: Involves carbon fixation, respiration, decomposition, and combustion.
• Nitrogen Cycle: Includes nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.

Population Dynamics

• Population Size: Number of individuals in a population.
• Carrying Capacity: Maximum population size that an environment can sustain.
• Growth Models:
  • Exponential Growth: Unrestricted growth in a suitable environment (J-shaped curve).
  • Logistic Growth: Growth that levels off as it approaches carrying capacity (S-shaped curve).

Interactions in Ecosystems

• Predation: Interaction where one organism (predator) feeds on another (prey).
• Competition: Struggle between organisms for the same resource (intraspecific and interspecific).
• Symbiosis: Close ecological relationships between different species:
  • Mutualism: Both species benefit.
  • Commensalism: One species benefits, the other is unaffected.
  • Parasitism: One species benefits at the expense of the other.

Ecological Succession

• Primary Succession: Occurs in lifeless areas (e.g., after a volcanic eruption).
• Secondary Succession: Follows disturbances in previously inhabited areas (e.g., after a forest fire).

Conservation and Sustainability

• Conservation Biology: Focuses on preserving biodiversity and preventing extinction.
• Sustainable Practices: Promote resource use that meets present needs without compromising future generations.
• Ecosystem Services: Benefits provided by ecosystems, including provisioning (food, water), regulating (climate, disease), cultural (recreation, spiritual), and supporting services (nutrient cycling, soil formation).

Ecology Overview

• Definition of ecology: Study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
• Levels of ecology:
  • Organismal ecology examines individual organisms and their adaptations.
  • Population ecology focuses on groups of individuals of the same species.
  • Community ecology studies interactions between different species within a community.
  • Ecosystem ecology analyzes energy flow and nutrient cycling among biotic and abiotic components.
  • Landscape ecology explores spatial patterns and their effects on ecological processes.
  • Global ecology investigates ecological phenomena on a large scale.

Key Concepts

• Ecosystem: A biological community that interacts with its physical environment.
• Habitat: The natural environment where an organism lives.
• Niche: The role of an organism within its ecosystem, encompassing habitat, resource use, and relationships with other organisms.
• Biodiversity: The variety of life in a habitat, including species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity.

Biogeochemical Cycles

• Water cycle: Involves processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.
• Carbon cycle: Includes carbon fixation, respiration, decomposition, and combustion.
• Nitrogen cycle: Comprises nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.

Population Dynamics

• Population size: The total number of individuals in a population.
• Carrying capacity: The maximum population size that an environment can support sustainably.
• Growth models:
  • Exponential growth represents unrestricted growth in favorable conditions, forming a J-shaped curve.
  • Logistic growth occurs when growth levels off as population approaches carrying capacity, resulting in an S-shaped curve.

Interactions in Ecosystems

• Predation: The relationship where the predator feeds on the prey.
• Competition: The struggle for resources between organisms, categorized into intraspecific and interspecific competition.
• Symbiosis: Ecological relationships between different species, which can be:
  • Mutualism: Both species benefit.
  • Commensalism: One species benefits while the other remains unaffected.
  • Parasitism: One species benefits at the cost of another.

Ecological Succession

• Primary succession: The establishment of ecosystems in lifeless areas, such as post-volcanic eruptions.
• Secondary succession: Occurs in previously inhabited areas following disturbances like forest fires.

Conservation and Sustainability

• Conservation biology aims to preserve biodiversity and prevent species extinction.
• Sustainable practices advocate for the responsible use of resources to meet current needs without compromising future generations.
• Ecosystem services: Benefits provided by ecosystems, which include:
  • Provisioning services: Food and water supply.
  • Regulating services: Climate regulation and disease control.
  • Cultural services: Recreational and spiritual benefits.
  • Supporting services: Nutrient cycling and soil formation.